NZXT Announces H230 Chassis and HALE82 V2 Power Supplies

On the heels of Computex Taipei, set to start on Tuesday, NZXT has announced two new products. It’s hard to follow up the release of a new CPU, but NZXT did their best by bringing their signature style to new the HALE 83 V2 power supplies and H230 case.

H230 Silent Midtower Case

Billed as the first product to be released at Computex (mind you the convention hasn’t started yet), the H230 was designed as “an affordable, silent chassis with all of the necessary essentials for a clean, functional build.” If we have come to learn anything from previous NZXT cases, like the NZXT Phamton 820, their cases are always well-built and have plenty of wire management options to satisfy the clean design bit mentioned in the marketing blurb.

H230 Case

Here is a bit more of the press release for further details:

Continuing the legacy of the H series, the H230 brings similar sound crushing abilities as its predecessors into a smaller, more accessible package for all. With an enclosed, minimalistic design, the H230 is every bit as functional as it is sleek.

Complete with a tool-free 5.25″ drive latch design, removable HDD cage, seven motherboard expansion slots and top accessible USB 3.0 connectivity, the H230 brings together all of the essentials for a hassle-free build with a minimalistic edge.

Not specifically mentioned above, but implied, the H230 comes with sound absorbing material on the inside of the case. I have to say, I am digging the modern, but elegant design. The most impressive part might be the $69.99 MSRP, since most silent cases typically cost quite a bit more including one of our favorites, the Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 at $89.99.

H230 System Build – Clean Cable Management

HALE82 V2 Power Supplies

We’ve always been impressed with NZXT’s HALE power supplies, and now there are two more members of the family. The goal with the HALE82 V2 lineup was to fill a hole in the marketplace for inexpensive fully modular units:

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The NZXT HALE82 V2 was designed with one goal in mind: bring consumers a high performance, feature-rich power supply without the premium price tag. As any computer enthusiast will tell you, poor cable management can make a beautiful build look like a complete mess. One of the major contributors to these cable management hassles is the power supply.

Unfortunately, fully modular cables are a luxury usually found only in high-end, high performance power supplies. Until now. Designed for mainstream users and enthusiasts alike, the HALE82 V2 is a fully modular power supply with 80 Plus Bronze certification. Available in 550W and 700W flavors, the HALE82 V2 features a fully modular PCB design with a labeled back plate for easy installation and excellent cable management.

The HALE82 V2 will be available soon for just €79.99 (550W) and €99.99 (700W). HALE82 V2 is confirmed compatible with Intel’s 4th generation Core processors formerly codenamed Haswell.

This is a certainly a good concept, although not an entirely new one as the press release purports. For example, Silverstone has a fully modular 500w 80 Plus Bronze unit for $74.99. The NZXT unit definitely gives a sleeker look, but performance-wise should be similar. Either way, it’s great to have a fully modular power supply with an affordable price tag. It also comes with a handy carrying case for all your cables, which looks like a travel toiletry kit. I plan to use it for CES 2014!

HALE82 V2 Carrying Case

Stay tuned for more product announcements in the coming few days from Computex!

NZXT has sent us a brand new just-released power supply known as the HALE82 850w. If the HALE branding sounds familiar you're probably thinking of NZXT's HALE90 series of PSUs. The only downside to the HALE90 units is that 80+ Gold parts and designs are expensive! The HALE82 series is 80+ Bronze rated and should cost significantly less than the HALE90 units, while maintaining the excellent NZXT quality. Read More

Not to get lost in the CES shuffle, NZXT unveiled the new H440 case as well as the matching Shine 3 mechanical gaming keyboard. In addition to keeping with NZXT's traditional good looks, the H440 will feature an integrated power supply shroud and four of the new FN V2 fans. The shroud will make cable management a breeze and make for an awesome view from the case's side window. The H440 should have plenty of room for watercooling and will be available in white/black or black/red. Read More

Shortly after arriving in Las Vegas on Tuesday afternoon, we paid a visit to Enermax's suite at the beautiful Aria Resort. On display were of course power supplies, fans and cases of all colors, shapes and sizes. Read More

NZXT has released a sequel to their excellent HALE82 power supply lineup, the HALE82 N Series. We have the 750 W flavor here today. It will get checked out, poked, prodded, abusively tested (twice), ripped to shreds, analyzed, inspected, quantified, and finally given an official Overclockers.com rating. Read More

sweet. that is awesome news...i really love the look of this psu and was super bummed when i was under the impression it was an exhaust fan..i actually just looked and realized i have a vent below my power supply location so this will work great for me... now if we could just talk NZXT into making sleeved wiring kits instead of just extensions...which is why i will still end up with a corsair psu in the end but maybe this will do for now since its so friggin cheap

That NZXT Support rep is wrong. He/She doesn't know that their own PSU fan is an intake, even though it's obvious by looking at the way the fan is mounted... Plus, I don't think I've ever seen a PSU with an exhaust fan before. The mesh in the back of the PSU (where the switch and plug are located) is where the warm air is exhausted. The fan pulls air in and then the air exits the back of the PSU.

The majority of non-OEM cases these days have a vent in the bottom of the case or either raised standoffs for the PSU to sit on to give it room to pull in air.

The fan on a power supply is an intake fan, it pulls air into the PSU, it doesn't blow air out of it. So, if the fan is on top, then it'll be pulling hot air from inside the case through the PSU. When the fan is facing down, it pulls cool air from outside of the case into the PSU. So, it's actually a good design and NZXT made it so their logo is right side up when installing the PSU in its optimal position.

i emailed NZXT about this issue previously and their reply was -

Hello Jason,

It can be mounted either way. Some people mount it face down, to blow the air out the bottom of there case While the others mount it with the fan facing inside the case.

It is all up to you on how you want to mount it. It will not hurt it at all.

Sincerely,

NZXT Support

so according to NZXT support ... its a exhaust fan...but even if it was a intake fan..one would need a vent below the fan to utilize such a thing...i dont know of many cases with a vent directly below the psu...

The fan on a power supply is an intake fan, it pulls air into the PSU, it doesn't blow air out of it. So, if the fan is on top, then it'll be pulling hot air from inside the case through the PSU. When the fan is facing down, it pulls cool air from outside of the case into the PSU. So, it's actually a good design and NZXT made it so their logo is right side up when installing the PSU in its optimal position.

it is so close to being exactly what i was looking for to complete my scheme...but the closer i look the more i realize that basically you can mount it on bottom but in order for the NZXT logo on the side to not be upside down you have to mount it so that the fan is blowing down through the bottom of the case which leaves you unable to see the nice looking fan and i would imagine that the people who spend enough on a case that has a vent below the power supply wont spend there money on such a cheap/low end power supply.